Community Agendas: Vote Equity

How can we build a shared agenda for our future, and build the political power to make it real?

Democracy is too often practiced individually, a transaction in a voting booth in pursuit of our individual interests. How do we move from individual to collective interests – and build the political power to make our vision real?

At For The Many, we believe policy agendas built by the public are one of the most powerful levers for serious policy change. Our approach to community agendas was tested in Chicago, in a voter guide built by over 2,000 residents.

The Vote Equity Project started with 10 community voting parties held at public libraries, inviting residents to come vote on the issues they wanted political candidates to prioritize in the upcoming election.

At these parties, residents reviewed policy ideas submitted by local residents, policymakers, and civic organizations. Before voting, they shared their perspectives with each other. How would these policy ideas matter in their lives?

Community voting, the process of neighbors sharing their lives with each other before voting for their priorities, is core to why this works.

Every part of this process – the ballots, the community meet-ups, the facilitation – was designed around the belief that when neighbors recognize each other's struggles, we grow our resolve to build a world big enough for all of us to thrive.

After the first set of voters saw community voting in action, neighbors took the voting process back to places their community already meets. Across churches, schools, tech incubators, and community service days, the month-long process engaged over 2,000 residents, who collectively cast over 52,000 votes on the issues they cared about most.

The resulting agenda, and corresponding voter guide, were answered by candidates for all offices and received extensive press coverage.

This project was produced by a coalition of partners, anchored by Chicago United for Equity during Niketa Brar's leadership. Data methodology was led by Matt Sweeney at the Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement, who serves as a contributing adviser to For the Many Strategies.

Related Media:

Chicago Mayoral Candidates Respond To Racial Equity Ideas

Natalie Y. Moore is a Sun-Times columnist. The Chicago native is known for her reporting on segregation and inequality. Moore has tackled race, housing, economic development, food injustice and violence. Her work has been broadcast on the BBC, Marketplace and NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. She was previously editor of WBEZ’s Race, Class and Communities team, overseeing immigration, environmental and city neighborhood coverage.

WBEZNatalie Y. Moore

What Racial Equity Policies Do Chicagoans Want?

We talked with the folks behind the Vote Equity campaign to imagine racial equity in the elections and beyond

City BureauEllie Mejía

Voting for racial justice means demanding more in the Chicago election - The Chicago Reporter

Chicago’s Voter Guide for Racial Equity reimagines the relationship between community and government by empowering residents to create policy platforms for the next crop of elected leaders.

The Chicago ReporterNiketa Brar